Hike to Bessegen

Hike over and along the Besseggen mountain is one of the popular hikes in Norway. Besseggen is a part of the Jothunheimen mountains, one of the biggest mountain ranges inside Norway. These mountains are surrounded by beaufitul lakes and scenic valleys. The hike along besseggen w/o a stop usually takes about 6 hours. It is a quite a steep hike in parts and long stretches on top of the mountain with great views all around of the mountains, lakes and glaciers. The hike starts from Gjende and ends in memurubu. The mountain itself is between two lakes called Gjende and besvatnet. Its quite a view when you walk along the ridge sticking out between the two lakes. I think it is one of the most interesting hikes I have done in Norway so far. Challenging and tiring, yet satisfying.
Day 1: We had a group of friends who drove to Valdres, where our company has a cabin. We stayed over the night. Cabin experience is something one must really experience in Norway. When you drive along these mountains all you see is tons of cabins everywhere. Its almost as if every Norwegian has a cabin for summer and winter retreats. They are such a nature loving people. Anyway, we woke up early got ready and went to Gjende to take the ferry to memurubu and start our hike back to Gjende. You could do otherway around but we didnt want to risk missing the ferry on the way back. It was steep hike from Memurubu all along to the top and I was the last one left behind trying to catch up with the other fit guys. But i wasnt complaining and everytime I stopped to catch my breath there was always this fantastic views on both side of the mountains. Snow capped Jothunheimen mountain ranges all around and the green color of the Gjende lake was just mesmerizing. However it was very cold that day and windy as well. It became more windy as we reached went closer to the top. Then we came to this small ridge sticking out in between the two lakes and it was so beautiful. Green color of gjende lake due to the glacier runoff containing clay on one side and the blue color of the Besvannet lake on the other side was just beautiful. Then we climbed the rocks and went to the top of the Besseggen mountain and walked the trail along the top. We stopped here and there to take pictures, catch our breaths and to replenish our salts and energy. Finally almost at the day break we reached Gjende, where we caught the ferry. We were so tired at the end of it, but we truly enjoyed the hike. We had a drink in the coffee shop and went back to our cabin for the night. The guys were treated with a fantastic curry for the night, courtesy Yours truly!
Day 2: Since we were done with the tough hike on saturday, we decided to take it easy on sunday so we could have enough time to drive back home. So we decided to go to Bitihorn mountain very close to Beitostolen, a ski resort near Valdres. It was nothing spectacular, but a small mountain with so clearly marked trail. So we had to kinda figure out the directions to the top. We reached in about 2 hours time. Spent some time in the top, ate our packed sandwiches and rested for a while. On the way back, we decided to take a bit of adventuruous route down and started making our own trail down the mountain along the bushes. it was actually nice since we were trying to race each other to see who reached the bottom first. All in all it was quite an interesting hike and best 2 days of hiking.

Check out the photos from the hike.

Some links:
http://www.besseggen.net/engelsk/index.htm

ferry timings
http://www.gjende.no/en/rutetider.htm

Preikestolen and Kjerag

Having lived in Norway this is a must do hike to Preikestolen or otherwise called Pulpit rock and Kjerag. Both these are fantastic view points of Lysefjorden which goes through Stavanger. they are pretty much located on opposite sides of Lysefjord. However Preikestolen is easily accesible from Stavanger city, Kjerag is quite the opposite. You definitely need a car to go to the base point to climb up to Kjeragbolten. Michel and I decided 2 days before the weekend that we had to go here and made all arrangements. Turned out quite expensive but we were upto it anyway. We decided to rent a car for the weekend and drive so we dont waste time waiting for buses. We took the night train from Oslo to Stavanger and rented a car next morning in Stavanger airport.
Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock): Off we went by the car towards Preikestolen hytta, base point for the hike. We had to first cross the Fjord by a car ferry and then started out hike from the Base point. Unfortunately weather gods werent smiling upon us. It was very foggy and full of clouds that day. It was a beautiful sight to see the mist hovering over the lake on the way. Slowly the hike became a very steep climb. It was crowded despite the fact that it was very cloudy. Maybe everyone was as optimistic as were. It took us almost 3 hours and bit more to reach the rock. It was quite a sight. The Pulpit rock is steep rock face jutting out of the mountains. You can appreciate the steepness from the pictures. On a clear day you could see the Fjord all the way below and around. Quite scary to actually peep and look down from the rock. Still we sat at the edge and took a few photos for our memories and decided that we need to come to this place again on a clear sunny day to enjoy the full view. We were waiting for the fog to clear up, but in vain. So we just walked all around the place and started our hike back to the base point. It was a bit strenuous, but manageable and we reached the hytta and took our car and went to the Three Swords monument near Stavanger. It was 3 Huge swords stuck to the ground with hilts up in the air commemorating the Battle of Hafrsfjord and the King who united three districts into one kingdom.
Kjerag: We had a good rest the night before and started very early to Kjerag. The drive to the base point itself was about 2 hours. It was a beautiful though, through the low clouds sometimes as we were climbing and also the sheeps all along the way and magnificient natural sceneries all around. By the time we reached Kjerag it was quite foggy up there. We knew this was the toughest of the two hikes, but little did we know that it was going to be very steep climb all the way. The initial climb was pretty much on a slippery rock face with no trails, but just a chain to hold on. All along the view just kept getting better. After a particular elevation, we were actually high above the clouds and view became much clearer. We could see the whole mountain ranges covered with snow caps, water falls and the clear fresh water streams from the melting snow. It was just beautiful. Then we saw Kjerag. It is a big rock or Boulder stuck between 2 mountains. its almost like a round marble stuck inside the bottle neck. The scary part is that it was 1000m deep below into the fjords. It was still cloudy and we were again robbed off the view of lysefjord. Having decided to push ourself to the edge we stepped onto the Kjerag and took a few pictures. One slip and we would fall 1000m below. Quite scary!! Thinking back, I dunno how and why I did it.. These mountains were a good place for Base jumping for the sky divers. Because of the bad weather we couldn't see any. We hikes around a little bit to explore some untouched areas and drank water from the clear stream, we tarted heading back to the base point. Just after 3 hours we reached the car and headed back to the airport to catch our flight. We just made it in time and by a stroke of luck were offered to take the later flight back in exchange for airline vouchers. We weren't complaining at all. :). This almost cut our expenses into half. So all in all it was a very good trip and would def. love to do it all over again.

View Photo Album

Weekend trip to Hemsedal

Another late blog.. :)

Hemsedal is a popular Ski resort during Norwegian winter. Plenty of Ski slopes and Cross country tracks means that Norwegians don't have to spend a whole lot to go to the Alps. Ofcourse this is not winter, but Hemsedal is still a nice place to visit during summer for activities. So we decided to go there and stay in a cabin for the weekend and do some hiking and kayaking. Turned out that our weather prediction got a bit screwed up and we had the most shitty weather you can ask for. It was raining, cold and cloudy. Not a hint of sun. But that didn't stop us. After stocking up the groceries for the weekend, we went to the ski slopes, took the lift up onto the top of the slope and then hiked a bit firther to the top. It was quite a view from the top. After a while it was just getting too cold and windy and we decided to take it easy and get back by the lift. During summer most of these slopes are turned into mountain biking tracks for the extreme sport enthusiasts. Pretty cool to watch them in action. We got back to the cabin and prepared a small pool in the cold stream nearby. Then we hit the sauna to get sufficiently warm and then take a dip in the real cold stream. Thats a part of the scandinavian culture. In winter, most people do the sauna and rolling over the snow or jumping into the cold lake covered with snow (ofcourse only for half a minute or so). Initially I thought you must be out of your mind to do this, but I did quite enjoy it although I was the first one to run out the cold cold pool. :). Then we had dinner and wound off the day with some marshmellows on grill.
Next day, we left the cabin and packed some lunch with us for a day full of kayaking. We couldn't get kayaks for everyone instea we took some kayaks and some canoes. We kayaked/canoed for a few hours and then got back and had lunch and then started heading back home. It was a lot of fun to be in a very diverse group of people doing fun activities together. Would love to go back to Hemsedal during winter.

Photo Album

Trip to Bruges and Brussels

Another late blog... :)

My trip to Bruges and Brussels in Belgium during end of May 2007.

Bruges: Took Thalys (Belge version of TGV) from Paris to Brussels and then caught a local train to Bruges. Bruges is a beautiful small city towards north of Belgium. They speak a language called Flemish, very close to Dutch. Called Bruge' in French, Bruges in English and Brugge in Flemish, it is the Venice of Northern Europe. It has beautiful canals going through the city and some lovely buildings along the canals. One should not miss out on the canal tour of the city. Also famous for its Bell tower called Belfry and the Chapel which has Michael Angelo's sculpture 'Madonna and the Child'. The sculpture is a real beauty. There was a shop dedicated to Tintin, the local comic hero. Then went to the City hall which features a beautiful Gothic room full of paintings and carvings on the wall and also the Basilica of holy blood where a vial carrying a drop of blood supposedly of Jesus Christ. Interiors of both these buildings had a rich artistic feeling to it.

You cannot miss the chocoloate shops selling Rich Belgian chocolates, then Belgian waffles with whipped cream and choc sauce and the Fries with many different toppings. I bought a few belgian chocolates, some of which I still have, whoch were heavely once you put them in your mouth. I loved this concept of mixing many different sauces as toppings for the fries. I tried a couple of diferent vareities and also had Fresh Belgian waffles. Belgium is also renowned for its beer. So i had to try some vareities of Beer with every meal. It was a day well spent doing the walking tours with a lonely planet in one hand and a yummy waffle in the other :). I had to leave for Brussels after this to meet up with a friend to explore brussels.

Bruxelles: Brussels or bruxelles is the capital of EU. It is such a huge city full of modern buildings and some parts which has lots of beautiful old buildings like Grand Place. Since we had just one day, we decided to first take a guided bus tour to cover the most important tourist landmarks and then explore some on foot. Since the city transportation was very nice, we also took a pass just in case. We sw different landmarks like EU buildings, Atomium, Place cinquintinairre, Royal palace, Court of Justice and finally ended up in Grand place. Grand place is a beautiful city square with some beautiful buildings and the most visited place in Brussels. It is full of nice restraunts, eating joints, pubs and chocolate shops incl. the famous Godiva chocolate shop. Right around the corner of this square is the 'Manekin Pis'. Legent has it that this is the statue of the boy who pissed on a bomb fuse and defused the bomb and saved many people. The boy has diferent dresses for different occasions. Then we wound off the day with a yummy Waffle with whipped cream, strawberry and choc sauce. Yummy...yummy...

Click below for the photo album.. ( I love this flash player :)

Trip to Germany - Easter 07'

Finally I am updating my blog which hasn't been touched in a long time...

As usual i did last minute planning and booked my tickets and hostels 2 days in advance for a weeklong trip in Germany. I got lucky with the train tickets inside Germany and got cheap tickets and reservation during the holiday season. My plan was to fly to Bremen, take train to Hamburg and then go to Berlin by train and flu to Munich and finally spend a day in fracnkfurt. Seemed like a long tour, but I somehow managed to get the different booking done in time to make it not so expensive trip.

Bremen: Just spent one evening in the city square with a nice dinner and Bremen's own Beck's beer. Also saw the Brother's Grim fairy tale about the Bremen's musicians - Donkey, Dog, Cat and the Rooster statues.

Hamburg: I spend one whole day in Hamburg. the harbour town. Hamburg has the second largest Harbour in the Europe next only to Rotterdam. I took a guided boat tour of the harbour and was amazed at the sheer size of the harbour and how many ships it can cater to at the same time and also the docks where the ships are repaired or maintained. After the tour, I just took a stroll all around the city to different touristy spots and did what a regular tourist would do i.e take plenty of pictures :). I slept that night in Hamburg and proceeded to Berlin the next morning.

Berlin: What a magnificient city!! The modern buzzing city with the scars from the past... This picture speaks of it clearly... I took the free guided tour of the city along with several other toursists. The best part about this guided tour is that it is free and the guide is usually an american, brit or aussie and if you are happy you pay them tips for their service. I think its a fantastic idea. http://www.neweuropetours.eu/
I went to the Berlin's most famous monument, the Brandenburg Tor (gate). It served as a victory monument under several kings and leaders. It was even a monument that stood right near the Berlin wall. Then we went to see the Holocaust memorial for all the holocaust victims all across the Europe. We then proceeded to a car parking place beneath which lay Adolf Hitler's Bunker in which he spent his last few days before he shot himself. We then went to see the remains of the Berlin wall which fell in 1990 when the communist East Germany united back with West Germany to become unified Germany. Some sections of the wall has been preserved and the rest of the wall has been demolished and replaced with brick lines along the road to remember the history. We walked along the wall to come to Check point Charlie which served as a check point between the East Berlin and West Berlin for the people to cross the border. We also walked along several other monuments which included Bebel platz, where Hitler urged the students to burn the books written by jews, the Berliner Dom, Opera house and Museum island. All in all it was a great guided tour with lots of historical information. I also went to the Berlin Olympia stadion to see the football pitch where Italy beat France in the FIFA Worldcup 2006 and Zidane headbutted Matterazzi. Its the same stadium which hosted the Olympics in 1936 which was inagurated by Hitler himself. I finished off my tour with a trip the Reichstag - The German Parliament. Its a bit strange that I ve been to two parliaments one in Germany and one in Norway, but I still havent been to Indian Parliament. I hope to do it at the earliest available opportunity.

Munich: The city of Monks, the city of beer and breweries... The history of Munich is that Munks from the monastries started brewing beer to the weary travelers and thus the city became famous for its pure beer and the munchs who started the tradition. Hence the name Munich or Munchen. I took the free guided tour in Munich too and went all around the city to see the beer garden,s Hofbrauhaus - the famous brewery in Munich, English gardens, the city market and Allianz Arena, home to Bayern Munich footballteam. Next day I went to the saddest place I ever been to. I visited the Dachau Concentration camp or whats left of it. I ve seen in pictures and movies, but I never imagined what it would be to enter one of these camps. The enterance is the iron gate in which it was written "Work shall set you free" in German. What a tagline to fool the entering prisoners and duping them into lifetime of servitude and death afterwards. It was so poignant to walk on the hallowed grounds of the camp. There were several monuments to the murdered innocent jews inside the camp. I also went and saw the living quarters where the jews stayed in the small bunk beds, used the common washrooms etc etc.. I felt a shiver when I walked into the Gas chamber where many jews were murdered in cold blood. It felt like a nightmare just being there and then you appreciate the cruelty and injustice done to them. I walked out of there with great sadness... After that I took the train to Frankfurt

Heidelburg: Since I didnt want to spend much time in Frankfurt I took the train to Heidelburg which is a small city by the river an hour south of Frankfurt. Its such a beautiful city with the ruins of the castle by the river. Took a castle visit and then a stroll along this beautiful city...

Thus ended my tour of Germany which lasted a whole week and by the end of it, I was so tired of walking that I really longed just to go home and crash on my bed.. Someday I will go back and continue my journey and see other cities that I ve missed out the first time... Dresden, Cologne, Dusseldorf...

My photo album from the trip



Free Guided tours: http://www.neweuropetours.eu/

Italia Tour - Xmas 2006

Wow.. Awesome... That's all I've got to say about the whole trip. I was so in awe that I really don't have better words for describing my feeling. Another amazing adventure and experience in a whole new world!!!
Three days off and I get a whole week's worth of time on my hands and I had to go somewhere instead of staying back in this dead city of Oslo. I mean really, Oslo is completely dead during Xmas time with everybody packing their bags off and going to their family or to Mountains to ski or go some place else. So I had to do something or I will go crazy and first thing that struck me was Italy tour. Been thinking of this trip for such a long time and trying to coordinate with a friend of mine, who was also interested in going along with me. I tried to plan the trip with my friend but unfortunately he backed out due to other reasons. So left on my own and 3 days to go I had really get my act together.

Fortunately I got some cheap flight tickets (not so cheap actually but cheaper for this busy Xmas season) with Ryan Air for my onward journey and new Low cost carrier called Wizzair for my return flight. Luckily I also managed to get some Hostel booking at Hostelling International at some cheap rates, as I was a HI member. So with that done, I was all set just 2 days to go. So then I went to my local library and borrowed a Lonely Planet book about Italy. This is the mother of all Tour books with all the neccessary information for a budget tourist. Since this post could go really long, I ve split this up according to my trip diary for each city I visited. Enjoy the trip diary... To visit the Individual blogs, please click on the City names and for photos Check out the link next to the each Blog..

Milano Blog - Milano Photos
Firenze Blog - Firenze & Pisa Photos
Rome Blog - Rome Photos

Ciao

** Still working on the invidual blogs and photos.. so please check back later.. Should be up soon.

Italy Tour - Milano

Following is my trip diary from Milan. Enjoy!

Day 1 (24-10-06) - Milano: My plan was to fly to Milano from Oslo by Ryan Air and take the tour from there. My flight was to Bergamo International airport which is a small city right close to the Italian Fashion Capital. I took a airport shuttle from the Bergamo airport to Milan Central Station(TerraVision Shuttles). First thing I did was to go and buy my train ticket to my next destination Firenze (otherwise knwon as Florence to English speaking people). There was an option of taking a Intercity train which was a bit cheaper and longer time or to go for the fast Train Eurostar(eqv. of French TGV's) which was much faster and bit more expensive. I wanted to experience the fast train experience and chose the Eurostar and it also gave me a bit more time in Milan on an otherwise tight schedule. That done, I had to go look out for a Train pass for the Metros and Buses. I went to the Hostel and refreshed myself and came out on the streets to start my tour. It was almost so late in the evening that I had to just go out walking and catch a bite. So I went straight ahead to Duomo. Since it was Xmas eve I didnt really expect so many people outside, but to my surprise there were lots of tourists walking around. This Duomo is a cathedral which is an amazing piece of architecture and art. Read more about this wonderful monument from this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duomo_di_Milano. It was so well lit up and so was the adjacent Vittorio Emanuel II Monument. It is the symbol of Milano. Together it was such a spectacle in the night with a huge Xmas tree in the Piazza(square). Spent sometime there and went ahead to eat some Italian food. I went to a nice restraunt and ordered a Pizza with a fancy name. Turned out Anchovies is a horrible smelling fish that almost made me puke. So had to just bit off the edges so as not to waste my my moneys worth and sipped on some nice Italian wine to wash off the horrible smell of the Fish from my mouth. They must be wondering why the hell did he order a fish pizza and not eat the fish. But this restraunt had a fantastic Home-made Tiramisu. It just melted in my mouth and was probably the best Tiramisu I ve ever had so far. Yummy.... After not so great meal, but wonderful desert I headed off to my Hostel to get a good nights sleep after a tiring day.

Day 2 (25-10-06) - Milano: Since I was leaving the city that night I checked out my Hostel in the morning and left my luggage with the Hostel reception. Since this hostel was run by a chinese family, I felt much safer to leave my luggage there. But I would suggest to leave the luggage in a locker or Left luggage in the railway station esp. if you are planing to catch a train later to avoid all the tension of going to hostel to pick up your bags before catching the train. Anyway, I first went to have a proper breakfast the Italian way. I thought Italy being predominantly a christian Majority, the roads would be empty. On the contrary there were lots of people and cars on street much like a bigger city and so unlike Oslo. I went and had a Cappucho (Cappuchino) and a Brioche (Chocolato). Ofcourse I had to say Ciao and Gracie and Ciao again. Quite Funny, Ciao goes for both Hi and Bye and then throw in some 'Prego'(Its Ok, You are welcome) everywhere and you can speak perfect Italiano. Then I started walking along the streets and look what I found, a Vespa Scooter. There were tons of Scooterists in the streets of Italy. I went straight to Castello Sforzesco. Just walked inside the Castle and came out on the other end. Nothing great about it really except that there was a map inside which showed that in Olden days this Castle was the center of the entire city and whole city was built around this castle and the Duomo. Apparently Milano was the capital of Napolean's Italy. He even built a big arch right behind this castle to celebrate his big empire. Then I went around to the Opera Center and found that closed on the Xmas day(obv.). Then as I was walking from the Caslte towards the Duomo I was treated with a set of pictures of Italy taken from above. These splendid photographs taken from above the different places showed how wonderful each and place is how much historic importance is attached to it. Then I just had a look at Duomo in day light and then walked to a Museum called Cenacolo Vinciano which has the Fresco of the Famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci 'the Last Supper'. It was also closed and I couldn't get a glance of it. That was about my time in Milano and I had to catch my train to Firenze to continue my adventure.

Click here for full set of Photos in Milan

TIPS:

• Whenever you go to any city always look out for a 24 hour or 48hr/72hr/week pass whichever applies to your duration of stay in that city. Works out cheaper than individual tickets most of the times. Ask for Metro Train passes at the counter just before the Metro Trains one level below the Milan Central Station or you can even try the automatic machines.
• You can book Trenitalia train tickets using Credit card with reservation on their website and pick up the tickets at any Automated Ticket Machine by entering the PNR number.
• Hostel I stayed: Hotel Durante. It was more or less a hotel offering shared rooms for a cheaper price. You can also look at http://www.hihostels.com/ for Hostel booking in Milan.
• Make a small list of all different food vareities and names of different pizzas, pastas in italian as not all restraunts will offer English Menu. Might be easier for you to choose.

** Contd... Look at my next post for my trip to Pisa and Florence.

Italy tour - Pisa and Firenze (Florence)

Trip diary of my visit to Florence and Pisa. Contd.. from Milan

Day 3 (26-10-06) - Firenze & Pisa: I had decided to go to Pisa (Home to Enrico Fermi, Galileo and Fibonacci among others)) this day to see the famous Leaning tower or 'Torre Pendente'. So I took a train from Firenze to Pisa, which takes only about an hour, and started walking towards the tower. There is nothing much to do in Pisa except the tower and the Basilica next to it and the other museums nearby in the same place Campo dei Miracoli(Field of Miracles). It costs quite a lot of money(15€) to go up to top of the tower, but whats the fun in not going to the top after being there. So I had to do it just for the heck of it. It was a very nice experience climbing the winding stairs which goes around this leaning tower and when climb you can actually feel the lean on one side. It was a great view from the top of the tower. I bought a collective museum pass(8€ for 3 Museums) for the nearby museums and went to see the Camposanto - Monumental cemetry which had a collection of some really wonderful and artful sarcophagi of many unknown people and one of the Well Known Mathematician Leanardo Fibonanacci of the famed Fibonacci series, Battistero(baptistery), Musei Opera Del duomo which has some of the old models for the tower and the Basilica and the Battistero and some frescoes and sculptures by the same person(Pisano) who was involded in building the tower. Then I went inside and saw the Duomo, a cathedral. That done, I had to go and buy some mementos and postcards to send it back home from Pisa. Then it was time for a good Dinner with 'Chianti Classic', popular red wine from the vinyards of Tuscanny. After that I took the train back to Firenze and roamed the streets locating some of the Museums which I planed to visit the next day.

Photos from Pisa

Day 4 (27-10-06) - Firenze: Crappy Breakfast at the Hostel which included a dry and hard bread with butter, a cold cappuchino and a glass of orange juice. I checked out of the hostel and went to Firenze Santa Maria Novella Station and left my luggage at the Left Luggage counter to be picked up before my evening train to Rome. I had got a 24 hour bus pass the previous night and so it made my job easier to jump between different interesting places by bus. My First destination was Gallgeria dell'Accademia, Obviously because I did not want to miss out on the world famous masterpiece by the Genius Michael Angelo, The 'David'. The Gallery also had some unfinished Sculptures by Michael Angelo. Unfortunately I dont have any pictures as they did not allow anyone to take photos inside. For its full collection, please refer the link above. Most of the visitors were swarming near the David Statue. It was so gigantic and beautiful as they all describe. It must have been 10 feet tall on a very high pedestal. It was so pristine white marble and just amazing. As history goes, it was displayed outside Palazzo Vecchio and then brought to the Gallery to preserve it. There is a copy of the same in Piazza vechio now and also a broonze copy in the Piazza Michael Angelo in the city. I also saw a copy of this same sculpture in Caesar Palace in the Vegas.

After the gallery visit, I went to see the Duomo. It was undergoing some restoration on one side. But we were allowed to enter the Duomo and also the Museo dell'opera del duomo, which ofcourse costs an entry fee. This museum had some of Micheal Angelo's works including one version of Pieta which he intented to have it for his tomb and also some sculptures of Donatello. MA was unhappy with his pieta and broke one piece of it and was later restored by one of his students. Quite a history eh, of the genius renaissance artist. I was never very arty meaning so much into all the art stuff.. but after seeing some of the wonderful stuff in Florence it was very difficult not to spend time and appreciate the art. This trip, I realised, was turning out to be a Michael Angelo tour.

Next stop was Basilica di San Lorenzo which was a very beautiful chapel which had couple of bronze pulpits designed by Donatello and apparently Donatello is buried in this same chapel. Then I went to see the Capelle Medicee (Medici Chapels). The Medici family was a big patron of the renaissance art and the likes of Donatello, Michael Angelo, Raphael all flourished during their period. This chapel has the tombs of the Medici family with some exquisite architecture and very beaituful and elaborate Sarcophagus. One of the room was Capella dei principi which is decorated nicely with marbles and precious stones and was the principal burial place of the Meidici rulers. The next room is Sargestia Nuova (New Sarcistry) which was fully designed by the Michael Angelo for the Medici's and has his beautiful alleghorical sculptures Night and Day, Dawn and Dusk and also the Madonna with the Child all of which are placed on top of the tomb of the Medici's, Lorenzo and Guiliano, along with their sculptures. Just in the presence of these masterpieces and this amazing rich rooms full of marbles and wonderful art and architecture made my day.

I decided to take it easy and just walked to Palazzo Vecchio and the crowded Piazza Della Signoria and its Fontana de Neptuno and Loggia Della Signoria in front of it which has Replicas of famous renaissance sculptures incl. David by Michel Angelo, Donatello's Judith and Holofernes, Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini, Rape of the Sabine Women and Hercules beating the Centaur Nessus, both by Giambologna, Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus and many other Greek Myth related art work. Wonder How it must have been in its hey day during the Renaissance Period of 16th Century!! I didnt have enough time to go to Bargello Museum or Uffizi gallery, both of which are very renowned and I so wanted to see. Oh.. Well.. Maybe Next time...

Then I walked to the other side of River Arne along the famous Ponte Vecchio, Florence's oldest surviving bridge has Jewellery shops on both sides of the street. It is open only for Pedestrian walking. it connects the Old Medici Florenti Palazzo(Palace) Vecchio to the New Florentine Palazzo Pitti. I crossed the River Arne towards Palazzo Pitti and found that it was closed and I took the Bus to Piazza Michael Angelo to get a fantastic view of the whole Firenze city from there and also saw the Bronze copy of David by Michael Angelo which adorns the Piazza. Then I literally ran back to the station to get my luggages and caught the Eurostar to my next destination 'Roma'. Quiet and an express journey which costs quite a lot of money, I reached the Roma termini- Central station. Main problem after that was my Hostel was very far away from the Station and I needed to take the Metro and then a bus to reach there. The Metro lines were closed as they are constructing a their line (Rome has only 2 underground lines and every effort of their to dig deeper gets them to someething historical and then the archeological dept takes over and work is stalled). So after a bit of effort i reached my hostel which is far away from the city center and a bit closer to Vatican.

Photos from Florence

**Contd... Look at my next post for my trip to Rome.